Warren council OKs mayor's DDA choices

The Warren City Council late Tuesday approved Mayor James Fouts’ choices for the Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors, and one of the three new members quickly came out aggressively against the board chairman for refusing to resign.

Council members unanimously confirmed the appointment of Andiamo Group president Joseph Vicari; and Hank Riberas, director of real estate and business development for Roncelli, Inc. Neither was present for Tuesday’s council meeting, where officials lauded them for their business acumen.

“With these two, it’s almost like a dynamic duo of Warren,” council President Cecil St. Pierre said. “These people know what it takes to market and move forward.”

The DDA board’s other new member, former councilman and retired Detroit police officer Michael Wiecek, was supported by the council in a 6-1 vote. Councilman Keith Sadowski voted against his former colleague.

Outside the council chambers, Wiecek said he may propose to the DDA board that chairman Lloyd Brown be kicked off the board.

“Several members that I did speak to have an open mind on this issue,” Wiecek told The Macomb Daily.

In recent weeks, Fouts has tried to overhaul the downtown authority board, which oversees projects and expenses in the district where increases in property tax revenue are “captured” to fund other projects. The mayor has accused the DDA of overpaying several years ago for properties purchased along Van Dyke, and claims the four-story city hall and adjacent parking structure have nearly three dozen design flaws. He also blames the DDA for not attracting more economic development in the district.

Three members — former Warren Consolidated Schools board member Jon Green, local attorney Charles Earl Jr., and David Spencer — resigned in recent weeks. Brown, owner of Waltonen Engineering, has scoffed at Fouts’ request to step down. Brown recently blasted Fouts in a letter sent to the mayor, who serves as the nine-member DDA board’s chief executive. Brown, who has served for 16 years, called the mayor’s allegations “venomous” and said the DDA board has acted properly.

Wiecek, who was term-limited as a councilman in 2007, remains outspoken about past decisions by the DDA, including the purchase of the former Royal Coventry Inn for $6 million in 2002, when the property was apparently worth only $2.3 million. Former Mayor Mark Steenbergh defended the purchase, saying the agreement had to take into consideration the long-term profit a business owner would give up in a sale.

“You may not be able to undo it, but you can stop it from continuing,” Wiecek said. He also said the boundaries of the downtown district should be shrunken, so that captured property taxes can be used to fund services citywide as Warren struggles to balance its budget due primarily to plunging property values in recent years.

“Obviously some changes need to be made,” he added.

Some DDA officials have privately suggested Fouts has raised questions about the DDA to divert attention from a federal grand jury probe of Gus Ghanam, the city’s assistant public service director and sanitation director. FBI agents have seized city records for trash incineration, demolition of a shuttered municipal swimming pool, the purchase of new garbage trucks, and Ghanam’s personnel records.

Fouts has denied the allegation, saying he is bringing up the DDA issues because he only became aware of them in recent months. However, Fouts was on the council when the multimillion-dollar purchases of property were debated and completed.

Council members hope the expertise of Vicari, who also owns Hillside Productions, which promoted entertainment event at Freedom Hill and Sterling Heights, and Riberas, owner of American Mini-Storage in Warren, will pay dividends.

“It’s a good sign our city, compared to other cities, by attracting these businessmen, that Warren is turning the corner,” Councilman Robert Boccomino said.